Jen Anderson - Seek

No Holy Laws/Never The Same/Big Gap/Amidst The Beauty/Eventually


Born into a musical family, Jen Anderson’s father Professor Gordon Anderson was a professional jazz musician before becoming Australia’s foremost expert in medieval music. She and her younger brother Jon were encouraged to learn an instrument from an early age, with Jen choosing the violin with Jon taking up trumpet and later guitar. The family moved to from Adelaide to Armidale in 1973 following her father’s appointment as lecturer in Medieval and Renaissance music at UNE’s new Department of Music. Both she and Jon initially attended Armidale High School before moving to the newly established Duval High School in 1974.

During her late teens and early twenties Anderson became interested in playing more contemporary music and realising that violin had a limited place in rock music took up the bass guitar. By the mid-1980s she was a member of Mixt Company, a six-piece band initially based out in the mid-north coast area of NSW (around Macksville and Kempsey). It later became Giant Steps and established a new base out of the Lismore/Byron Bay area of North Coast NSW. After a number of line-up changes the group eventually disbanded around 1988/89. In addition to Anderson, other members have included: Barry Ferrier (guitar), Lisa Spence (vocals), Tim Shanasy (keyboards), Gordon Heazlewood (drums), Dick Rummery (keyboards/guitar).

Between 1989 and 1992 Anderson was associated with Kings of the World (1989), Scarecrow (1991) and The Stab (1992). The two later bands included musicians who have also played with her in Weddings Parties Anything – Stephen O’Prey (Scarecrow) and Dave Steel (The Stab). Sometime around in 1992, while playing in a duo on one of the floors of the Sydney Trade Union Club, Anderson’s talent as a violinist was noticed by Joe Camilleri. The Black Sorrows frontman (formerly with Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons) was in the process of expanding his band’s line-up and invited her to join the group. She soon afterwards appeared on the band’s hit LP Harley and Rose and toured throughout Australia and overseas, cementing her reputation as one of Australia’s leading contemporary violinists.

While still with the Black Sorrows Anderson released a solo EP Seek (1992) which includes some members of The Black Sorrows, and Gordon Heazlewood (ex-Mixt Company and Giant Steps). Seek contains a variety of styles and moods through which Anderson experiments with instrumentation and various pop-writing styles. During this period she also toured briefly with her own group (the Jen Anderson Band), comprising ex-Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons guitarist/vocalist Tony Faehse, along with Tim Henwood, (guitar, vocals), Pat Quinn (bass, vocals) and Terry Bartholmew (drums). The Black Sorrows released Better Times in 1992 and continued touring, while also releasing a number of singles up until late 1993 when Camilleri disbanded the group.

Having recorded several tracks for Weddings, Parties, Anything on the band’s albums Different Loves (1992), including a feature appearance on the band’s most successful single, “Father’s Day” and King Tide (1993), Anderson was an obvious choice as permanent violinist, and subsequently joined in 1994. Her first album release as an official member was Donkey Serenade (1995). Anderson remained with the band until it disbanded in 1998, but has also been involved in several reunions – 2005, 2006 (a one-off) and 2008. Although Weddings Parties Anything had limited commercial success its live shows were renowned for being energetic, and the band toured extensively throughout Australia.

Weddings Parties Anything†

While still a member of Weddings Parties Anything Anderson was also carving out a successful career as a soundtrack composer and session musician. One of her early solo projects involved writing and recording the soundtrack to the German silent movie Pandora’s Box (starring Louise Brooks). Anderson performed the soundtrack live during its 1993 art house run. That same year she also produced Ruby Hunter’s debut album Thoughts Within, while also contributing violin and viola fills to a couple of the tracks.

Since 1993 Anderson has contributed to more than 40 recordings as a guest musicians, including works by Hunters and Collectors, The Revelators (with Joe Camilleri), Billy Baxter, Deborah Conway, Nick Cave, Renee Geyer, Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes, Sherry Rich and the Grievous Angels, along with three tracks from the 1998 compilation Didj’un : Singer Songwriters from the Kimberley. She also features on the Nick Cave/Kylie Minogue hit single, “Where the Wild Roses Grow“, taken from the album Murder Ballads (1996), and produced and played violin on Tim Rogers’ and The Twin Set’s 1999 Aria award-winning release What Rhymes with Cars and Girls (Rogers is perhaps best known as the frontman for You Am I). In addition to her recording career Anderson continues to tour and perform with other musicians and bands, including, for example, Barb Walters and the Men of Constant Sorrow (2002).

The Larrikins†

Anderson’s own releases a collaboration with Tim Shanasy (as Sonic Lifeform). They released Silent Catalyst in 1999. Her critically acclaimed score for Pandora’s Box led to a commission from ScreenSound Australia to write the music to accompany a reconstructed version of the original 1919 silent film The Sentimental Bloke for the 1995 Melbourne International Film Festival. She and fellow Weddings Parties Anything compatriots Mick Thomas and Mark Wallace helped record the soundtrack (released in 2004) and played live during the films initial Australian tour. Following the discovery of new footage a new reconstruction of the film premiered in 2004, Anderson was again asked to perform the score live (with some additional new music). She subsequently formed The Larrikins, comprising Anderson (strings/mandolin/vocals), Dave Evans (keyboards/piano accordion/vocals) and Dave Warner (guitar/mandolin/vocals). In addition to a 2004 Australian national tour the trio has toured extensively overseas, including playing at such film festivals as: London and Pordenone (2005); Telluride, Washington DC, Montreal and Tokyo (2006); and Seattle, Seoul (2007).

Jen Anderson’s film and television credits include the ABC’s Simone de Beauvoir’s Babies, and ‘Wee Jimmy’ (from the Hybrid Life series) ; the Clara Law film Goddess of 1967 (2001) ; the short films Tale of the Paper Hearts (1998) and Helga: Adrift in Wonderland (2002) ; and the documentaries It’s Like That (2003), Einstein’s Wife : The Life of Mileva Einstein-Maric (2003), Hunt Angels (2006) and Vivian Bullwinkel (2007).

Thanks to RAM once again for this CD which he ripped as a FLAC file those of you wanting the alternate FLAC file can get it HERE.

Australian Crawl - Semantics

Reckless (Don't Be So...)/The Night/White Limbo/Looking For Cool




Australian Crawl was founded in Melbourne, Australia by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano), his younger brother David Reyne (drums), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass guitar) and Simon Binks (lead guitar) in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough (drums, percussion), and the band was later joined by his younger brother Guy McDonough (vocals, rhythm guitar).

Semantics was a 1983 EP by iconic Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. The album marked a change in the line up of the band as Bill McDonough (drums) was replaced first by Graham Bidstrup (ex-The Angels, The Party Boys with Crawl member James Reyne) to record the EP. The more permanent replacement, after the EP, was John Watson (Kevin Borich Express).
The EP contains their best known song and only number 1 single, "Reckless (Don't Be So)" (aka "She Don't Like That") which was written by lead singer Reyne. Listeners of Triple M voted "Reckless" the 39th best song of all time in 2007, it was the highest placed Australian Crawl song.
In the United States and Europe Semantics was released in 1984 by Geffen Records as an expanded version LP featuring the EP's four original tracks plus re-recorded versions of six earlier Australian Crawl songs. The original EP was also re-released as a CD-EP in 1996.
Australian Crawl performed "Reckless" as one of their three songs for the Oz for Africa concert (1985). This was the Australian leg of the global Live Aid show organised by Midge Ure and Bob Geldof. The "Oz for Africa" concert was broadcast on MTV, but only performances by Australian band INXS were placed on the 20th Anniversary DVD collection


Thanks to RAM once again for this CD which he ripped as a FLAC file those of you wanting the alternate FLAC file can get it HERE.

Catherine Wheel - Self Portraits

Reach/Wilsons Beach/Blackest World/Mama/Self Portraits


Catherine Wheel were from Sydney, Australia, their lifespan was quite short, just two years, from 1989 to 1991. During this time they released 10 songs, all of them little pop gems.
Catherine Wheel were Andrea Croft, Grant Shanahan, Brett ‘Bert’ Thompson and ‘Biff’ Smith. Catherine Wheel came into being from the ashes of another Sydney band The Honeys after they disbanded. The three ex-Honeys Andrea, Grant and Bert added Biff Smith and Catherine Wheel was born . Their first single included the songs Almost Blind, Sunny Sunday and Look At Her. It was released on the That’s Bizarre label.

Blue Avenue / Last Explanation was their second 7″, again released on the That’s Bizarre label in 1990, and has the band’s best two tracks. Their last release was the “Self-Portraits” 5 track CD-EP on their usual label, That’s Bizarre. The Honeys reformed around 2007 and recorded a new album 16 years after breaking up.

Thanks to RAM a regular contributor to the Midastouch Forum for this CD which he ripped as a FLAC file those of you wanting the alternate FLAC file can get it HERE.

Huxton Creepers - Keep To The Beat

Skin Of My Teeth/Rack My Brains/Edge Of Darkness/When You Sleep/Visually/This Days Is Mine/Better Days/Nights Become Your Days/Keep To The Beat/Slow Attack/Time Heals All Wounds



The Huxton Creepers were an Australian rock band from Melbourne. They formed in 1984, three years after they left high school, and split in 1989. Their notable Australian hits were "My Cherie Amour", "I Will Persuade You" and their version of Manfred Mann's "Pretty Flamingo".

The lineup was Rob Craw (lead vocals and guitar), Paul Thomas (guitar and vocals), Matthew Eddy (bass) and Archie Law (drums). All four members attended Scotch College, Melbourne, completing their HSC year in 1981.


Their first released recording was the track "King Of The Road" (an original, not the Roger Miller song) on the Au Go Go Records Melbourne compilation Asleep At The Wheel in 1984. This and their two tracks on the Triple J compilation Cooking With George brought them to the attention of Big Time Records, their label throughout their career. Their first album was 12 Days To Paris in 1986 and their second was So This Is Paris in 1988 (titled Keep To The Beat on the Canadian release).

I had a request for the Huxton Creepers 1986 Single "My Cherie Amour" so here it is.

Max Merritt - Black Plastic Max

Rocks in My Head/Red Pig/A Lover's Question/I Could Have Told You So/Someone Touched Me/Rock and Roll Mole/Tryin' Too Hard/Touch and Go/More to Life Than This/Last Train to Clarksville


Max Merritt (born Maxwell James Merritt in Christchurch, New Zealand on 30 April 1941) is a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who is renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors his best known hits are "Slippin' Away", which reached #2 on the 1976 Australian singles charts, and "Hey, Western Union Man" which reached #13. Merritt rose to prominence in New Zealand from 1958 and relocated to Sydney Australia in December 1964. Merritt was acknowledged as one of the best local performers of the 1960s and 1970s and his influence did much to popularise soul music / R&B and rock in New Zealand and Australia.

Merritt is a venerable pioneer of rock in Australasia who produced crowd pleasing shows for over 50 years. He has engendered respect and affection over generations of performers which was evident at the 2007 Concert for Max to provide financial support after it was announced he had Goodpasture's syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recognised Merritt's iconic status on 1 July 2008 when he was inducted into their Hall of Fame.

For more info on Max check out his Bio here

http://www.sergent.com.au/music/maxmerritt.html

Cold Chisel - Teenage Love

Hands Out Of My Pocket/Nothing But You/When The Sun Goes Down/Suicide Sal/It Ain't Wrong/Teenage Love Affair/Monica/Mona And The Preacher/Drinkin' In Port Lincoln/Payday In A Pub/Metho Blues/Yesterdays/Notion For You/F111/A Little Bit Of Daylight/The Party's Over



Cold Chisel are a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to Australia and New Zealand

Teenage Love is a compilation album by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel, released in 1994. The album collected studio recordings, many just demos, that were not used on previous albums. Phil Small said, "There was always a surplus of 3 to 4 tracks with each album." The tracks were recorded between 1976 and 1983. "Hands Out of My Pocket", "Nothing But You" and "Yesterdays" were issued as singles.

Don Walker said of the album, "Most of the time they were recorded as demos, so it's just the band in the studio slamming down a new song. For a certain number of them, it's the only time we ever played the song."

"The Party's Over" was a live staple for the band but not included on earlier studio albums. "A Little Bit of Daylight" is an early version of the song recorded by Jimmy Barnes as "Daylight" on his solo album Bodyswerve. "Monica", a song written by Prestwich, is the only Cold Chisel song that Don Walker doesn't play on, as he claims he couldn't play with a "latin feel."

Allmusic describes "Teenage Love" as, "the weakest studio album in Cold Chisel's catalog." However, it continues, "Yes, it's Chisel's "B" material. But then, most bands would kill to have this kind of stuff as their "A" material."

The album reached the number 6 in the Australian charts.

V.Spy V.Spy - Harry's Reasons

All Over The World /Something/Learn To Laugh/Shirt Of A Happy Man/Out And Dreaming/Dangerman/Harrys Reasons/Way Of The World/The Wait/Iron Curtain/Injustice



Spy vs Spy, also known as v. Spy v. Spy, The Drug Grannies and The Spies, are an Australian ska/pub rock band from Sydney formed in 1981. They became known for tackling political issues through their music, including racism, homelessness and contemporary drug culture. They were named after a comic strip, "Spy vs. Spy" in the US Mad magazine.

The band's initial line-up was the trio of Craig Bloxom on bass guitar/lead vocals, Cliff Grigg on drums/percussion and Mike Weiley on lead guitar/vocals. Spy vs Spy's early music was ska-influenced indie rock, exemplified by their debut single "Do What You Say" on the independent Green label in April 1982. They released an EP Four Fresh Lemons in August. Their music became more straight forward hard rock for their pub audiences. The band broke up in early 1983 only to reform mid-year, by which time they were using the name v. Spy v. Spy to avoid legal problems with Mad magazine.

They were eventually signed to Midnight Oil's label Powderworks and managed by Oils manager, Gary Morris. Their first full-length album Harry's Reasons was released in March 1986 and produced by Leszek Karski. They switched labels to WEA and had their highest charting success in February 1987 with their single "Don't Tear It Down" on the Australian singles chart and the associated album A.O. Mod. TV. Vers. peaked at #12 on the Australian albums chart.

Spy vs Spy's follow-up album, Xenophobia (Why?) was released in March 1988 peaked at #15 in Australia. It was produced by Karski and Guy Gray and released by WEA in 14 countries. Their 1989 album Trash the Planet peaked at #22 on the ARIA Charts. None of their subsequent releases reached the Australian Top 40. The band split and reformed a number of times but still developed a strong following in Brazil.